How Do You SPF? With Surfer Malia Jones
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Real Routines
How Do You SPF? With Surfer Malia Jones
Who better to steal SPF strategies from than surfer/model/swimwear designer Malia Jones? Here’s how she stays safe (and chic) in the Hawaiian sun.

Ever wish you could spend every day at the beach? Trade in the 8am meetings and paperwork pileup for a bathing suit and salt-water tousled hair?  While that’s just a daydream for most of us, surfer/model/swimwear designer Malia Jones actually lives that life. #Goals.

The sun goddess guru and mom-of-two splits her time between Honolulu, Hawaii and Venice Beach, California, where she designs her ultra-chic namesake line of bathing suits and caftans. With that much time spent alfresco, Malia definitely knows a thing or two about sun protection strategies—think easy-to-reapply-SPF and a wardrobe of wide-brimmed hats. We sat down with her in sunny California to get her surfer-approved tips.


Skin School: Living in Hawaii sounds like a dream. Is it?
Malia Jones: I surf almost every day. I throw on one suit in the morning, then I’ll go jump in the ocean. I’ll come home and change into another suit and work for a while. Then I’ll go back out and jump in the ocean again. I sometimes change into four different suits a day!

SS: No wonder you started designing swimsuits. What inspired you to start your own line?
MJ: After modeling and surfing for 15 years, I’ve worn a lot of bikinis. But I always had a hard time finding the perfect fit. So I knew exactly what I wanted to make—something chic and timeless that you could wear in any country or season. And the cut and fit have to be impeccable.

SS: You spend a lot of time outdoors. Did you learn about sun protection at a young age?
MJ: My mom always told me that if I did one thing, I better wear sunscreen. Growing up we’d wear these super thick sun sticks that were almost like a mask. We’d surf all day long and not get burned. Then, as I got into my 20s, I started to realize that I should wear sunscreen every day, even if I wasn’t at the beach. My mom warned me that my neck, hands and décolletage would age the fastest.

SS: What do you look for in a sunscreen?
MJ: For my face, I really need to use something that’s not oily and dries matte because I wear contacts, so when I jump in the ocean, I don’t want it to run into my eyes. I like the Clinique SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen Fluid for Face because it’s not oily or greasy and you don’t feel it. I also always wear a hat between 10am and 2pm.

SS: Every day must seem like a vacation when you live in Hawaii. What are your summer vacation plans?
MJ: My family and I are going to Italy and France for a month where our only plans are to surf and eat! I’m also just finishing up samples for our new Resort collection. And then I’ll be going to Cabana, which is a huge swimwear show in Miami.


Photos: Katrina Dickson | Words: Katie Livanos | Hair & Makeup: Mia Yang